Jim Donnan reconsidered: Not a bad ‘Old Coach’ after all
I never thought Jim Donnan was a bad coach. I thought he was a good coach who never got the one break he needed. And don’t think for a moment that breaks don’t make/unmake a coach’s career. Where would Phillip Fulmer had been if Arkansas’ Clint Stoerner hadn’t put the ball on the ground in 1998? Where would Mark Richt be had Horace Willis knocked down the pass to Michael Johnson that cold day at Auburn?
The “Old Coach” — Donnan liked to call himself “Old Coach” — was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame over the weekend, and I was glad to see it. I was one of the few people who seemed to like Jim Donnan, and that was another part of his undoing. After the curious failed season of 2000, he had no real allies other than Vince Dooley, and about all the AD could say in Donnan’s defense was that he deserved one more year.
(I agreed then, and I agree now. But that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize that Georgia upgraded with Richt.)
Donnan intrigued me. He loved game-planning and play-calling, and sometimes he complicated things when an off-tackle blast would have sufficed. But he knew offense — didn’t care much about defense, which is the way of most offensive men — and I’d been following his career at Marshall before he got to Athens. On the day Georgia introduced Glen Mason as its choice to succeed Ray Goff, Dooley said he’d also interviewed Donnan. And I thought, “That wouldn’t have been a bad choice, either.”
On Christmas Day 1995, following Mason’s Yuletide reversal, Donnan was indeed Georgia’s coach. He was 5-6 that first season but won every year thereafter. But he seemed to win more games than he did supporters, which was strange.
At a Bulldog Club meeting after Donnan was fired, Loran Smith introduced Richt by saying this coach wouldn’t look off in the distance when you shook his hand and mentioned a Georgia game from 30 years ago. That was a slam of Donnan, who suffered alums grudgingly and with whom Smith had a postgame moment. (In 1997, Smith wondered about the rampant cramps the Bulldogs had suffered during the game just concluded. And Donnan, perhaps justifiably, said: “I can’t believe we beat South Carolina and your first question is about cramps.”)
Loading ...With a better bounce or two, Donnan mightn’t have needed friends. Say Jasper Sanks hadn’t fumbled against Florida, or if Al Ford had decided Sanks didn’t fumble against Georgia Tech. Say Terrence Edwards, deployed at quarterback, hadn’t stepped out of bounds on third-and-goal in OT at Auburn in November 2000. Had Donnan won one or two of those, would Michael Adams have acted as he did when he did?
In hindsight, it’s clear Donnan’s last team was undercoached and Quincy Carter, so good as a freshman in 1998, got worse the more he played. But Donnan won at Auburn and at LSU and he beat Tennesee once — from 1996 through 1999, Donnan’s first four seasons, only Florida beat Tennessee — and he even beat Spurrier in 1997. The man had some moments. He just needed one or two more.
So he should have swallowed hard and answered Loran’s goofy question about cramps. Laugh all you want, but that moment on live radio made Donnan seem a bit of a bully, which, in all honesty, he could be.
But he and I got along, and I’ll never forget the night he was fired. He called my cell phone and said, “It’s Coach Donnan.” Then he actually had the grace to laugh. And he said, “Well, not anymore.”
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81 comments Add your comment
Ted Striker
July 20th, 2009
5:34 am
Donnan infused excitement into a program that had grown stale in recruiting and needed serious upgrades in coaching. His demeanor? Didn’t bother me one bit. Loran got what he deserved for that particular question at that particular time. Also: Just because coaches have call-in shows doesn’t mean “expert” (fan) callers should expect to have nicey-nice replies lobbed back to them if fans make especially asinine comments.
Glad Richt arrived but Donnan deserved one more year from Adams. Plus Adams also had egg on his face for his unauthorized, unapproved Donnan payment.
Slow Freddie
July 20th, 2009
6:36 am
I’m not a UGA fan but I enjoyed listening to Munson broadcast their games. I don’t think Munson suffered fools gladly and Loran always sounded like a fool to me. Munson’s apparent disdain for Loran dripped from his questions, “Whatta ya got, Loran?” If Donnan thought Loran Smith asked idiotic questions, I would bet he had lots of company in the Dawg Nation.
Ernest
July 20th, 2009
6:36 am
I also thought Donnan was a pretty good coach but could not live up to the expectations of the “Dawg Nation”.
Shieldy
July 20th, 2009
6:37 am
Donnan is better & more enjoyable now than then. His players gave Richt the momentum to fully turn us back around. I think Donnan would’ve fired Martinez which Richt won’t do. I’d have fired Loran’s goofy-ass a long time ago though!! All seems fine, Donnan seems happy, Richt is happy. Loran & Willie…..both seem senile enough to be happy too.
The Dawg Bone
July 20th, 2009
6:44 am
I was a high school coach when Donnan was at Georgia and I remember at a clinic, Donnan did not think that the person introducing him gave him enough credit as a player and spent the first 30 minutes telling us how good he was. We also had a kid that was being recruited very heavily and Donnan and Fulmer came to our school within days of each other. It was night and day the difference in how we were treated. Fulmer was very jovial and humble while Donnan seemed miffed to have to be there. That was tough on a UGA alum like myself.
Bill
July 20th, 2009
6:53 am
I liked him! But then…I like all UGA coaches.
Monday morning buffet « Get The Picture
July 20th, 2009
7:57 am
[...] Bradley thinks Jim Donnan just needed a break or two. What Donnan needed was a competent defensive [...]
MightyQuinn
July 20th, 2009
8:00 am
When Donnan was at UGA, I asked a die-hard Bulldog buddy of mine if he thought Donnan was an a**hole. He replied, “Yeah, but he’s OUR a**hole.” As a side note, the same buddy and I went to Baton Rouge for the game when UGA and LSU were both ranked in the top five during the Quincy Carter era. I have been in Sanford Stadium, Atl-Fulton County Stadium, Turner Field and the Georgia Dome when they were all sold out, but NOTHING was as loud as that game in Baton Rouge. Amazing place.
Mac
July 20th, 2009
8:02 am
He wasn’t a bad coach and deserves to be given credit for his accomplishments. That said, I’m glad things turned out the way they did, because Richt was a serious upgrade.
UGASlobberknocker
July 20th, 2009
8:16 am
Loran’s post game questions are enough to make anyone crazy. He needs to retire
Georgia News - 7/20/09 | MrSEC.com
July 20th, 2009
8:19 am
[...] of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that maybe new College Football Hall of Fame member Jim Donnan wasn’t such a bad coach after all.Marlon Brown? Rantavious Wooten? Orson Charles? Will one of those newcomers have an AJ [...]
TommyP
July 20th, 2009
8:24 am
Donnan didn’t deserve the UGA job. He was fired at the right time and was given enough time.
Mark: You personally like the guy which has always been reflected in your articles of him. (which is not a good thing for a journalist) Quote his record against the teams that matter.
That’s what ultimately got him fired, with a side dish of being an ass.
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2009
8:29 am
Donnan was not, shall we say, a “people person.” And he did have a high opinion of himself. But you know what? I’m guilty on both counts myself. Which is why I’ve never been hired to coach Georgia, I can only assume.
MightyQuinn
July 20th, 2009
8:38 am
Hey Mark, just read the story on the Hudson rehab assignment and got an idea for a “Hot Button” for you. What do the Braves do when Hudson is ready to rejoin the big club? Trade him for a big bat? Trade someone else in the rotation? Keep everyone and move someone to long relief? If so, who? Just trying to reduce the workload a little for the hardest working man in journalism!
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2009
8:45 am
That’s a good idea, Quinn. So good it might just appear in this space very, very soon.
Thanks again.
Bret
July 20th, 2009
8:47 am
I had the opportunity to attend practice in 2000 under Coach Donnan and again Coach Richt’s second year. Night and Day…respect, discipline and character differences…we have the right man now. I will always appreciate Coach Donnan for upgrading our talent…he did a heck of a job, but he did not represent us like most of our alumni would want I assure you. I agree with Mark, he was always funny and had some great one liners.
dt4c
July 20th, 2009
8:57 am
Coach Donnan was a great coach and a great guy once you got to know him. He just never liked the butt kissing that went along with the job. I am just a normal UGA fan, not one of the power brokers and he treated me and my family like royalty. Invited my kids onto the sideline several times during warm ups. I agree Mark, that he never got the breaks. If we don’t get a few for Coach Richt in the next couple of years he will be treated the same way by our fans. Congratulations on your induction into the HOF Coach Donnan. You deserved it and you deserved better from UGA fans.
ImADawg
July 20th, 2009
9:00 am
I liked Donnan as a coach. He seemed to have a very good track record when arriving at UGA. (Marshal and Oklahoma asst.) I’ve been told that it was not Donnan’s coaching, it was the off field aspect. That being said…how many drug test has Quicy Carter failed??? Things that make you go HMMM!!!!
Vance Leavy
July 20th, 2009
9:02 am
Gotta defend Mark on the journalist jab. Mark is a columnist not a reporter. I would guess his perceived pro-stance on Donnan had more to do with him seeing a side of the former UGA coach that unfortunately many never did. And please don’t forget that to the dismay of most Georgia folks, throughout Donnan’s time, Mark warned that Georgia was still mediocre. It pissed the Bulldog Nation off, but it was dead on. The true mark of a good columnist. Nonetheless, Donnan deserves credit for getting the Dawgs on the right course. And man did he bring some talent to Athens.
Coach D
July 20th, 2009
9:10 am
Living in Athens, I run into Coach Donnan every now and then. He’s always gracious, talkative and generally pleasant. His stories at the local touchdown club are hilarious, and he has thousand of them.
That said, he was not the most gracious person when it came to alumni/supporters as he doesn’t suffer fools well, and God knows the fools are the ‘experts’ who spend their time calling into talk shows and coaches’ call in shows. Still though, that’s part of the job in today’s big time money driven world of collegiate sports. The jousting with Loren, which actually started in the post game of the 4 overtime Auburn victory in ‘96, was probably better done off-air, but Loran is as arrogant as they come and has not offered any meaningful comment since Bill Stanfill played, if then. He owns the pregame show, though so he’s not going anywhere…and this year we have him for four hours instead of three. Look for more interviews with the backup waterboy from the 1942 championship team.
Mac
July 20th, 2009
9:12 am
“Mark: You personally like the guy which has always been reflected in your articles of him. (which is not a good thing for a journalist)”
Mark is a columnist/blogger whose job is to give his opinions. He’s not writing game stories here.
ccdawg
July 20th, 2009
9:21 am
Hey Mark, “Breaks” can go the other way too… if Will Witherspoon doesn’t get fingertips on a 2pt conversion we lose to LSU at home. If we don’t get a home cooked pass interference at the end of the game we lose to Central Florida at home and as a Georgia coach you don’t lose to GA Tech 3 times in a row, PERIOD. Do you think Ray Goff was a good coach? It could be argued that bad “breaks” killed his career too. Donnan was rude, arrogant and overrated. I am glad Richt is here, championships prove he is a MUCH better coach.
Jack G.
July 20th, 2009
9:24 am
It was not Donnan’s coaching that did him in, it was his personalty. He did not suffer fools and there were to many fools in the alumni assn.
TommyP
July 20th, 2009
9:26 am
Mac: Journalist or columnist. Sorry for the technicality but I won’t call him a “blogger” ’cause that makes him no different than you or me.
At any rate, when a columnist likes a coach or player personally, it reflects in the writing.
Defending Jim Donnan as the UGA coach when he was fired was indefensible. Especially with what was going on off the field under him.
dooley
July 20th, 2009
9:27 am
jim donnan got us started with the top 10 recruiting classes.
Joe
July 20th, 2009
9:30 am
Donnan was a good coach, but not great. He was an 8-4 guy. Banking on a coke-head at QB killed him.
When he professed that Qu*ncy was the starter before his freshman season, thus causing Cobb, Hybl, the kid from Norcross and Usry to transfer or quit, he sealed his fate. There was nobody left to come in for Qu*ncy in Columbia.
Corey Phillips was a DGD, but he should not have been in the position of starting games. I do appreciate Donnan for not taking the redshirt off of David Greene, however. He obviously would have had he known what would happen after the Oahu Bowl.
Otto
July 20th, 2009
9:46 am
As others have said it was not his record that had him fired so quickly it was the off field control of the team that had him fires. Donnan’s record against UF, and Tenn made it that much easier.
I did like him in interviews.
Hybl went on to a successful career at Oklahoma winning the Rose Bowl.
Goff was a good recruiter as well. I don’t think Donnan started anything. Donnan’s greatest asset over Goff was Joe Kines at DC which was hired in for Goff’s last year.
SC Dawg
July 20th, 2009
9:50 am
Donnan left the program in better shape than when he was hired. But by the 2000 season, it had become apparent he had taken the program as far as he could. And if a change wasn’t made, Georgia could have started seeing 6-5 or 5-6 seasons because the top recruits would have gone elsewhere.
Give credit where credit is due. Many players on the 2002 SEC Championship team were Donnan recruits.
poopdawg
July 20th, 2009
9:52 am
Donnan was a good coach. I loved his comment right after he was hired , a reporter asked about his late start in recruiting, he said ” i will find 25 men who want to play football for the uga” in a very confident tone.I knew we had someone who could coach and not just recruit. But i was pretty pissed at his call at auburn with 3rd and goal from about the 6 0r 7 and ran terrance edwards around the end (all 165 lbs)and stopped short.
Coach Cool
July 20th, 2009
9:53 am
I’ve talked to coach D on a couple of Delta flights. He’s very nice and gracious. Sorry to those who think he should bow down to you.
Tommy P: did you even GO to school after high school?
Columnists are paid for their OPINION, based on FACTS. This is what you learn in COLLEGE.
MB has no problem taking local athletes/coaches to task. Just ask ol’ #29 (now pitching for the Sawx)
JB
July 20th, 2009
9:57 am
Losing to Tech, Quincey and indifference to most of Bulldog nation got his ticket punched out.
The Doggone Truth
July 20th, 2009
9:58 am
One day, just like Donnan, all the Haters will look back on Mike Vick and realize how blessed we all are to have had him here in our city and to have gotten to watch him play in person.
We often do not realize THE BEST things in life that we all have until they are already gone.
Please forgive us for our ignorance, Mike.
Homer
July 20th, 2009
10:02 am
FIRE BRADLEY!!!
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2009
10:08 am
Thanks, Vance. Thanks, Mac. Thanks, Coach Cool.
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2009
10:10 am
The three Georgia Tech losses cost Donnan his job. No doubt about that. Two of them were on field goals at the end. The third was just awful, Godsey running through a defense that would send nearly every member to the NFL.
Cuz
July 20th, 2009
10:16 am
My UGA ticket holder friends and I were dismayed that we fired a coach with a 8-3 record. Yeah he could not beat the big three consistently or at all that season. We just thought it was wrong.
With that said, Mark Richt is the man I want coaching my team. I knew little about him but he seemed to have his head on straight and he has delivered a product to the Bulldawg Nation that I had given up on seeing again.
I don’t have any bad feelings toward Jim Donnan, I wish him well and congratulate him on his admittance to the HOF. Now if we can just get Chan Gailey in there for what he did for UGA.
Joe
July 20th, 2009
10:24 am
Mark, that defense did send EVERY MEMBER to the NFL and 3 backups as well.
The 2000 Starting D:
DE: Charles Grant, Josh Mallard, Chris Clemons
DT: Marcus Stroud, Richard Seymour,Demetric Evans, Johnathan Sullivan
LB: Kendrell Bell, Will Witherspoon, Tony Gilbert
S : Jermaine Phillips, Terreal Bierria
CB: Tim Wansley, Jamie Henderson,
Decory Bryant, Kentrell Curry and David Jacobs were on the defense as well. None played in the NFL because of career ending injuries, but likely would have.
That was the team that Donnan has “waited all of his life to coach.” Another quote that buried him.
How Gary Gibbs and Kevin Ramsey are coaching defense in the NFL is beyond me. That 2000 team was arguably the most talented in UGA history and they squandered it.
Otto
July 20th, 2009
10:25 am
Three to GT what about 1 win against UF and Tenn each? The faculty at UGA had noticed how undisclipined the team was outside of class. GT certainly made the firing easy but it was not the cause.
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2009
10:26 am
Yes, and I believe Boss Bailey hurt his knee covering the opening kickoff of the season. Some talent on D, eh?
Otto
July 20th, 2009
10:28 am
Give credit where credit is due. Many players on the 10-2 Donnan team were Goff recruits with Goff’s DC.
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2009
10:30 am
That’s true. But many players on the 13-1 team of 2002 were Donnan’s recruits.
murfdawg
July 20th, 2009
10:31 am
Donnan was in over his head. Which is hard to believe because his ego made his head so big. Didn’t he give himself the game ball after beating Western Carolina or somebody like that for his 100th coaching win? He didn’t care whether he beat clark Central or fl, as long as HE got the win. I think it is ironic that he and John Cooper went in together. Cooper beat Mich twice and Donnan beat fl once and they made the HOF. Good Grief!!!
Homer
July 20th, 2009
10:38 am
Bradley is in over his head.
blufftondawg
July 20th, 2009
10:38 am
OK, let’s get real. Coach Donnan lifted the program from some embarassing losing years to 8 + wins each year. But he wasn’t always a nice guy and he did have to suffer Loran Smith like the rest of us. I might have smacked Loran and Donnan never did.
Truth is, the well connected Loran Smith is a perennial embarassment to the program and the school.
Richt is an upgrade, but Coach Donnan did a decent job for us.
Atticus
July 20th, 2009
10:40 am
Mark, good article and good points. Donnan is a great guy and is a proud Dawg which says a lot. Funny thing is, i agree with him in certain respects, I DO love the Bulldog history but at times back when Donnan was coaching, it did get old hearing about it to the detriment of moving into the present.
Let’s make one thing clear though. His program was LIGHT years behind this one and that isn’t his fault. One break was NOT the difference. It was the total approach, especially with respect to recruiting (parents and high school coaches) and defense. His downfall was his record 1–4 against Tennessee, 2–3 against Auburn, 1–4 against Florida and 2–3 against Georgia Tech.
MightyQuinn
July 20th, 2009
10:48 am
Mark, i.e. your 8:45 am response to my post, can I get my name with yours on the by-line? Can I, huh, can I?
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2009
10:49 am
I think Adams could have lived with the 1-4 against UT and Florida — nobody was beating those teams at the time, except each other — but the Tech losses did it.
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2009
10:50 am
Your name will be prominently displayed, Quinn, if indeed this comes to light. This I promise.
HH
July 20th, 2009
10:53 am
Say what you will about Donnan, at least he had the guts to fire assistant coaches that didn’t measure up, unlike Coach Overrated. Point #2: Let Coach Overrated lose three in a row to Tech and see how long he hangs around.
Jack T.
July 20th, 2009
10:54 am
Donnan did have a few big wins, but what I remember most are the games when the Dawgs weren’t ready to play when the game started. Bowl games against Purdue and Virginia and that last one against Georgia Tech. I think there were some more as well. We’d look awful for the first quarter or two before waking up. We won those bowl games, but it was too late against Tech.
Atticus
July 20th, 2009
10:57 am
Come on can we drop the “he won with so and so’s players”…
Urban Meyer won with mostly Ron Zook players, Saban with a lot of Mike Shula’s, Paul Johnson with Chan’s? No, it doesn’t fly. Everybody has players, yes you get the occasional game breaker…but what game breakers did Utah have last year?
Coaching staff’s make the team in college football….you win with discipline, expectations and a commitment to excellence at all costs.
MightyQuinn
July 20th, 2009
11:02 am
I will die a happy man if this comes to fruition, MB!
Otto
July 20th, 2009
11:05 am
Mark, It gets back to replies to articles from your fellow writers. Donnan did not improve the program. He went 8-4 with his recruits and DC. Donnan is in the HOF for his time in Marshal not Athens. Goff was a good recruiter who was a 8-4 to 10-2 coach with a good DC. Talent has not been a problem in Athens for atleast 30 years but doing something with it has.
Atticus, Urban was mostly using his players last year.
Headlinin’: Nick Saban, the frugal recruiter | Newstion.com
July 20th, 2009
11:07 am
[...] other Hall-of-Fame induction news, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reconsiders ex-Georgia coach Jim Donnan, Holtz’s new classmate in South Bend, whose name has elicited a very Lou-like reaction from [...]
Atticus
July 20th, 2009
11:08 am
Otto…I KNOW that but not when he won his first title.
Ed-Covington
July 20th, 2009
11:10 am
Whenever I hear Loran Smith talk; I can’t help but be reminded of “The Seer” in the “Cannery Row” movie who had suffered brain damage after being hit by a fastball from the Nick Nolte character.
murfdawg
July 20th, 2009
11:16 am
Coaches use their own players. Scholarships are renewed on a yearly basis. If a coach doesn’t want a player, he will not renew his scholarship. So all the arrest at fl and all the mnc are with oscar meyer’s weiners. Donnan had ample opportunity to cut Quincy free and let he pursue his habit somewhere else. Also donnan had the chance to kick a field goal against GT and win the game, but his ego wouldn’t allow it. Did GT put Sanks in their HOF like we did Reggie?
G$DAWG
July 20th, 2009
12:03 pm
We can discuss all day long Coach Donnan’s term at UGA. Personally, I feel the guy was more interested in designing uniform changes then he was in designing game plans. Regardless, the facts are clear about his record at UGA, especially against the higher quality programs. Do not confuse results with actions. Donnan is for Georgia what John Blake was Oklahoma: a decent coach who recruited well and stopped the hemorraging for previous errors by both coaches and the administration upon the football program. But just like Blake at Oklahoma, Donnan, for whatever logical reasons, could not get the job done. Richt, like any other coach, has had his poor coaching days, like the “blackout” lost to Alabama. But Donnan’s poor coaching days seemed to be a regular, such as the humiliating loss to Auburn at home (35-0 halftime), the embarasing loss to South Carolina, all the humbling losses to Tennessee (in retrospect, his sole victory over UT now appears to be at the start when UT was on the decline), the constant destruction, save one, of Georgia at the hands for Florida. Let’s not forget the mind numbing losses to Georgia Tech and let down losses to teams like Ole Miss in his first year after the big win against Auburn in 1996. The administration can be faulted for many things, according to all those with an opinion. But the firing of Donnan and the hiring of Richt is one decision that they got right.
Dawg Grad02
July 20th, 2009
12:25 pm
Loran always asked stupid questions….I remember one time before a Kentucky game he asked Coach Donnan did he think this was gonna be a game where the team that scored the most points would win. Donnan impressed me then by pausing I’m sure to not say what he really wanted to say…..he wasn’t a bad coach but glad we have Richt
ccdawg
July 20th, 2009
12:50 pm
It kills me when people say Donnan improved our recruiting. He lost many of Georgia’s top talent to Tennessee and Auburn(Jamaal Lewis, Takeo Spikes, etc). He had no more or no less talent than Ray Goff(Remember Spurrier’s “coaching” comment). He made some poor recruiting decisions Quincy and Jasper and alienated players and alumni. Many high school coaches, even those who liked UGA, could not stand him and were sending players elsewhere. He was an average coach at best. I’m glad he was fired when he was and that we got Richt when we did and didn’t have to dangle in mediocrity while Dooley decided whether “significant improvement” was needed. Stop rewriting history, Donnan went 8-4 his last 3 yrs and lost 3 times in a row to Tech and Fla and 2 out of 3 to Auburn and Tennessee. That’s not good. Period.
Lee Dawg
July 20th, 2009
1:21 pm
I think he did bring UGA back to relevence and improved recruiting. The thing that got him was his record against our rivals and not being able to get along with the Alumni. They are the ones that write the checks!
mike
July 20th, 2009
1:33 pm
Coach Donnan was an excellent coach, with a unique ability to recognize
talented football players. When he joined Ga. there was a lack of talent, when he departed, Coach Richt inherited outstanding talent.
There has also been much incorrect info about a lack of discipline.
Let me remind everyone, his teams has one arrest in five years and
annually were at the top of the conference in least amount of penalties.
Dawg Tired
July 20th, 2009
1:33 pm
When he was interviewed after the victory over UT in Sanford Stadium on national TV the first thing out of his mouth was how he guessed he could coach after-all. Not one word about being proud of his team or assistant coaches. He was an embarrassment. If he deserves to be in the College Hall of Fame, Erk Russell should have a statue at the entrance to the place.
Doolydawg
July 20th, 2009
2:09 pm
Donnan seemed a much better coach than he actually was because he followed Ray Goff. I could have seemed a good coach after Ray.
chazzo
July 20th, 2009
2:23 pm
I am not one to want to fire coaches. I think it takes about 5 seasons before you really start to see what a head coach’s program is about. All sympathy aside, though, Donnan may have been a great coach, but he wasn’t a good manager which is what a good head coach has to be. The Quincey Carter debacle went on far too long, and he never got the right personnel to get the “D” to gel. Worst of all, he promised to deliver big and failed miserably, not only coming up short but losing to every major rival on the schedule (another administrative failure). Hey, I’m glad you were pals. He deserves recognition for what he did at Marshall. But, he was pretty average as a Div I head coach. As for Goff. He was kind of the Dan Quayle of college football… in the big show, he was over his head. Goff was a solid assistant and, who knows, maybe could have developed into a solid HC, but he was picked too early for political reasons, causing a lot of dissension and doubt.
ccdawg
July 20th, 2009
2:39 pm
Mike- “Coach Donnan was an excellent coach, with a unique ability to recognize talented football players. When he joined Ga. there was a lack of talent” Just a reminder Donnan inherited talent too. Robert Edwards, Hines Ward, Champ Bailey, Mike Bobo, Adam Meadows, Matt Stinchcomb,Jason Ferguson, Jermaine Smith, Greg Bright. So Donnan reaped as much from Goff as Richt did from Donnan. I obviously have higher standards for Hall of Fame material. Donnan was an average coach. His average record was 8.0 – 3.8. He lost 19 games in 5 years and had no championships. In his last 3 yrs, when he “improved our recruiting” he lost 3 in a row to Ga Tech and Florida. He lost 2 out of 3 to Auburn and Tennessee. He stuck with Quincy and Jasper when most knew that potential was all they would ever have. The reason there weren’t alot of arrest is because Donnan covered it up. Quincy flunked drug tests. There was no team discipline and the UGA program was headed in the wrong dirction. Donnan- an excellent coach- no Mark Richt is an excellent coach. Side by side comparisons and Donnan looks even worst than an average coach. 2 SEC Championships and 6- 10 win seasons with 22 loses over 8 yrs is excellent that’s not Donnan.
74 Dawg
July 20th, 2009
3:02 pm
What i wanna know is why we can’t recruit defensive players like those on the 2000 team consistently now. How many guys on defense drafted last year? 2? in the later rounds?
Greg
July 20th, 2009
3:05 pm
Ccdawg-do you really believe any coach could actually cover up an arrest in Athens or Atlanta?You make some good points but that one is way off!Greer was dismissed because of failing drug tests and Jasper Sanks missed two games.The AD controls the tests not the coach so why not ask Dooley or Damon?
Headlinin’: Nick Saban, the frugal recruiter | ReadSports.com - Everything about sports
July 20th, 2009
3:47 pm
[...] other Hall-of-Fame induction news, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reconsiders ex-Georgia coach Jim Donnan, Holtz’s new classmate in South Bend, whose name has elicited a very Lou-like reaction from [...]
89Dawg
July 20th, 2009
3:55 pm
Lots of really good comments on this board, which in my mind means Donnan’s HOF selection truly is highly debatable. Add me to the list of those who were surprised by Donnan’s selection to the College Football HOF. I’d have nominated him for the Hall of Good, maybe even the Hall of Really Good, when you lump in his Marshall years. But Hall of Fame? You gotta ask, what exactly among his career milestones is he famous for?
And he did burn up every last bit of his benefit-of-the-doubt with his surliness and hostility toward fans. As a result, he got the fate he deserved when a better bounce or two didn’t go his way. I think every D-1 football coach would happily work for a six-figure salary if all they had to do was coach football well. They got paid the $1 million salaries in Donnan’s years and the $2 million to $4 million salaries now to suffer the fools impeccably well. Exhibit A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD1Gxrl4tLs. Richt is one of the best I’ve ever seen at it, and Donnan was one of the worst.
One thing I do admire about Coach Donnan is that he has family in Athens and decided to remain there after he was fired when it probably would’ve have been easier personally to move back to North Carolina or closer to a broadcasting gig. So he does show good taste for knowing what the best college town in America has going for it.
Ole Dawg
July 20th, 2009
4:44 pm
I did not think he should be fired but I didn’t like the fact that he never answered the NC coaching rumors by saying I’m where I want to be and I’ll be a dawg for as long as they will have me. I also wonder why he has never coached anywhere since being fired?
Monday (7/20) reading « The Chapel Bell
July 20th, 2009
4:48 pm
[...] Bradley offers his opinion that Jim Donnan just needed a break or two to go his way while he was the coach at [...]
chazzo
July 20th, 2009
5:47 pm
Ole Dawg: He had a clause in his contract did he not? He received a nice pay check for doing nothing. That was one of my worries about firing him at the time. Anyone know what he got severance? What about Goff?
Putting Jim Donnan’s Tenure with the Georgia Bulldogs Into Perspective | The Epic Sports Wagering Broadcast
July 20th, 2009
10:24 pm
[...] the College Football Hall of Fame. Now, I have no intention of continuing to flog a dead horse, but the latest apologia penned by mealy-mouthed Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Mark Bradley (for whom the defense of the 1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Coach Donnan are recurring [...]
Dawg stuck in Bham
July 20th, 2009
10:38 pm
As the brother of an Athens teacher and coach(he coached numerous athletic dept. kids, let me share what was shared with him…
Donnan’s downfall was he only wanted to deal with X’s & O’s and no off field stuff. The day of that coach is over. A Div I coach is a CEO and Donnan was not that at all. The teams had a TON of racial issues between the players during his years. Donnan’s view was let the players work it out among themselves.
Donnan allowed the program to be in complete disarray behind the scenes. That, along with not winning some important games, is what cost him his job.
Mark Bradley
July 20th, 2009
10:43 pm
I got an e-mail from the Old Coach today. He asked me to keep the contents private, and I’ll honor that request, with this tiny exception: He did say thanks for the kind words.
George
July 20th, 2009
10:55 pm
Donnan was offered the Kentucky and Kansas jobs before Brooks and Mangino along with others that his agent told me since he was terminated.
lazydawg
July 21st, 2009
10:21 am
Can you say tunnel sceen?Mr.Predictable let the players run the school and the locker room,but was a hell of alot better than what we had.
shepdawg
July 21st, 2009
5:45 pm
Thanks Mark for a nice article on an underappreciated coach. Coach Donnan left Georgia much better than when he arrived. Most of the criticisms of him are childish and uninformed. While everyone was disappointed in Quincy, Donnan did what was best for the program at the time and thankfully did not lift the redshirt on David Greene. His loyalty to Georgia is great even today ( yet our loyalty to him has been shaky at best). If you remember he turned down offers at NC, NCSt, and Oklahoma. Had Georgia stuck with Donnan I am sure he would have won several SEC titles and competed for the national title also. Don’t forget his comment on David Greene ” If you think Quincy was good wait till you see this kid’. He would have had a great team in 2001 and 2002. As for the Tech losses it seems to me that Al Ford should have been fired not Donnan. Rarely is it mentioned that ACC officials in Athens blew the Hamilton fumble at the end of that game also. He would have been averaging over 9 wins a season over his last 4 seasons at a time when Fla and Tenn were winning national championships and always ranked in the top 5. Yet he broke long losing streaks against both. He was always very pleasant around me so I never understood the off field angst. As a former high school coach I can tell you that his X’s and O’s were highly respected in the profession. Thanks Coach Donnan for all that you did to pave the way for our current successes.
Cindy Hendrix
September 14th, 2009
11:02 am
Jim Donnan did a fair to average job at ga going from Marshall to Div 1-A was a big leap & he just
could not do it compete with the big boys in the sec will give him credit for 97 his best year ga was
10-3 & beat fla great game in 97 aganist Auburn his personality needed some work after all remember alumni donate big money & the fans buy the tickets to fill up the stadium I commend Mike
Adams for saying it’s time for a change in the football program & now is the time Dooley taking up for him was a lost cause If Adams had not made the choice to fire him & hire Mark Richt UGA would not be where we are today Richt has taken us back to a team to be proud of not since Dooley have we come so far Richt is a fine coach & a good man a good fit for ga he learnded from 1 of the best Bobby Bowden Donnan did a good job at Marshall but the sec is a whole new ball game 1 he just could not compete with great job Mark Richt I hope you will be our coach for a long time to come GO DAWGS!!! Cindy
Palemoon
October 10th, 2009
10:50 pm
I don’t see the same “upgrade” in Richt that everyone sees. He’s not a very good coach. A micro-manager, sure. Brazen? Very. You can tell Richt graduated from the dirtiest, cheating’est program in the NCAA, the Miami Hurricanes.
Anyways, I want Richt held to the same standard as Donnan. I want him fired because he will never, ever, beat Tennessee and Florida in the same season. Especially when Urban Meyer is coaching Florida. Now *THAT* would have been a serious upgrade at coach for Georgia, to have landed him instead of Richt.